Retired Press Worker Scratches for $1,000,000

A man whom worked for 40 years in a Berlin, CT manufacturing firm retired pack to his native Puerto Rico. At a family reunion back in Connecticut he swung through the local gas station for a cup of joe and a scratcher - a scratcher worth A MILLION BUCKS! Congrats to the newest Connecticut scratch ticket lottery winning millionaire. Here's the story reported by the New Britain Herald.

Retired Press Operator Wins Lottery

When Wilman Bravo showed up at his son, Robert’s home in Plainville Wednesday afternoon the younger Bravo was concerned. His father was crying.

“These are good tears,” Bravo assured his son. “These are tears of joy.”

After working more than 40 years as a press operator for a Berlin manufacturing firm, former New Britain resident Wilman Bravo, 66, retired last year.

He returned to his native Sabana Hoyos, Puerto Rico. Then Wednesday, while back in New Britain for his annual family visit, Bravo stopped at a local convenience store to buy a cup of coffee and lottery tickets.

On a whim he peeled off an Andrew Jackson for two, “$100,000,000 Diamond Mine” instant games.

In moments Bravo was no longer simply a “retired factory worker;” he had donned a new mantle, “Connecticut’s Newest Lottery Millionaire.”

Revealing a matching pair of 16s, Bravo discovered he had won the $1,000,000 prize — a sum that far exceeded his expectations.

“I did a double take,” he told lottery officials and laughed. “I took off my glasses, turned the winning ticket around in my hand, cleaned my glasses, then took another look.”

Unable to reach his son by cell phone to share the news, clutching the ticket, he got back in his car and drove to his son’s house.

“I was in disbelief,” said Robert Bravo about his father’s good fortune.

However, father and son managed to drive to CT Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill to verify the ticket and claim the elder Bravo’s $1,000,000 top prize. Read the full story...